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Engineering Online

ECE 518 Wearable Biosensors and Microsystems

3 Credit Hours

(also offered as BME 518)

This course will explore the application of wearable electronics to monitor human biometrics. The first part of the course will introduce the sources of chemical, electrical, and mechanical bio-signals, and the sensing motifs for monitoring each bio-signal. The second part of the course will explore the design, function and limitations of wearable biosensors. Example systems will include wearable electrocardiograms, blood-glucose monitors, electronic tattoos, “smart” clothing, and body area networks. Emphasis will be given to critical comparison of different sensor modalities and how their limitations in realistic applications suggest the selection of one type of sensor over another. This course will provide students with a general overview of wearable biosensors and the necessary technical background to solve basic problems in engineering systems at the interface of biology and electronics.

Prerequisite

No course prerequisites. Graduate standing with familiarity in biology, chemistry and physics.

Course Objectives

This course will better prepare students in the up and coming biotechnology and nanotechnology markets. Students will learn the basic sensing principles and sensing elements (chemical, biochemical, optical, semiconductor) and how they can be applied to wearable systems of physiological sensors. Students will also learn various application examples associated with those sensing principles. Upon completion of this course, a student should be able to:

  • Explain the functional mechanisms of bio-analytical sensors;
  • Understand how to design chemical sensors and biosensors by integrating concepts of molecular recognition, transduction, biomaterials and microfabrication;
  • Apply the information to identify the proper sensing system to monitor physiological parameters;
  • Quantitatively analyze biosensor data or performance;
  • Critically evaluate biosensors described in the scientific literature.

Course Requirements

Reading Assignments
Homework
Final Exam
Biosensor Design Project and Presentation

Textbook

No textbook required.